In my Developing Mystery article (part of the Genre Guide) I break down a handful of points on developing proper Mystery.
I’m going to leave the clinical definition of Mystery to those sources and point out, ultimately mystery elements are secrets. Secrets somebody knows, but not the reader.
Newer writers often find it difficult to judge how much information to hold back, sometimes front loading too much, dissolving the hook of well developed mystery, but more often, holding far too much back, muting the mystery to such a low level it becomes completely ineffective.
And in this latter effort, the characters representing the mystery often come across broken or ineffective themselves.
Ok, so here’s a breakdown of how you can take any secret and express it throughout your narrative to actually develop mystery. To set that hook that draws the reader in and engages them.
Subtext Reveal #1: Deliver a strong hint or setup of the secret.
I don’t remember when Star Wars first leaked Vader’s parentage of Luke. As far as I can remember they really didn’t develop it as a mystery point. But since you’re likely familiar with it, I’m going to run with it as our example. <<Remember, I never tell you look at this movie, since they did something, it works for everyone. I tell you, look at this movie, where you can can see an example of this narrative technique in action.>>
Our secret for the example, the element we want to deliberately build mystery around is the fact that Vader is Luke’s father.
The first secret reveal doesn’t come right out and tell/show the reader what the secret is about. It merely puts there attention toward that thing.
Luke finding a birth certificate, but it’s mostly burned up where his parents’ identities aren’t legible is one showcase.
or how about, Obi Wan telling Luke he knew his father back in the day. (Which actually happens in Star Wars.) Then Luke explains that he doesn’t remember his dad… and Obi Wan specifically says something cryptic about his father, than changes the subject.
In both these example showcases, the first secret reveal doesn’t tell the reader much of anything about Luke’s dad, but it brings the reader’s attention to this character and relationship (the core of the secret). It opens the door and gets the reader to take a mental note, wondering, “who is Luke’s dad?”
Let’s digress for one moment and point out why Star Wars actually didn’t develop Luke’s father as a mystery element when Luke first met Obi Wan. During their conversation Luke says he wishes he had known his dad, then asks Obi Wan, how he died. In response to this, Obi Wan delivers definitive answers. “Your dad was a great pilot. A warrior. A friend. And he was killed by Darth Vader.”
Obi Wan answered all the questions directly. He didn’t keep anything secret! So while some of this information would turn out to be quasi-false and setup the classic epic reveal, it didn’t follow rule one and deliver a strong hint or setup to a specific missing piece of information (secret).
Open Reveal #2: Deliver the Bigger Movement.
The next time you showcase the secret, do NOT make it subtle or subtextual, like the first time around. You’re no longer in “hint” territory. Instead, come right out and nail the essence or core of the secret square on.
The strategy here is that you first teased the reader and subtly set their focus on the narrative element… now, you hit them in the face with it, and force them to pay attention. This is where the hook of the mystery is firmly planted. You want the reader consciously acknowledging the secret in question form.
Assuming the secret is interesting and you’ve done your work as a writer to actually engage them with the secret, secret reveal step #2, creates a need in the reader, to know the answer to the secret in question form.
Let’s diverge from how Star Wars actually played out and create proper mystery around the Vader father connection:
Perhaps, on the Millennium Falcon, while trying to evade the Empire, Obi Wan takes Luke aside. He tells him “Luke I have something really important to tell you. Everything you know about your parents is a lie. Your father wasn’t who you thought he was. He wasn’t who your foster parents told you who he was… And it’s time you knew the truth.” Then before the full truth, before the details of the secret can come out, the Falcon takes fire and Luke has to rush off to defend the ship.
Of course remember, Star Wars didn’t actually try to build mystery with this narrative element. They used the reveal of Vader’s relationship as a hardcore direct turn, tied into core character development.
Keep in mind, exactly how much you reveal in step #2, depends on the scope and complexity of the secret… and the context of your story.
In one version of our Star Wars, the broader movement is captured as described above and the real identity, that key detail is the climax of the reveal, withheld until later…
However, another version of our Star Wars story exists, where we actually reveal Vader is Luke’s father at step #2. The hook moves off the father’s identity, onto some other key detail.
The secret in question changes form, it shifts to a related question, focusing on a more specific detail.
Perhaps, in this version, the hook moves on to how Vader fell from Jedi grace. Didn’t he kill Padmé, isn’t that what sent Vader crazy in the second set of films, I can’t remember. Point is, the hook of the mystery moves off the detail of Vader’s identity which has already been revealed and onto a more specific detail illuminated by that reveal.
The secret in question form changes from, “who is Luke’s Father?” to, “How did Luke’s Father, a once proud Jedi, become the ultimate villain!?”
However the secret question changes, it always remains an expression of the original secret idea. It just gets… more specific.
Final Reveal #3: Deliver the details of the secret (the truth).
If the truth of the secret is complex, you can deliver the details of the truth in more than one reveal; 3 steps is NOT a definitive requirement.
Maybe your secret has a reveal step #4, #5, #6 etc. But regardless how many final reveals you have, they all serve the same purpose. Where in step #2 you let the cat out of the bag, the final reveal(s), finally show exactly what the cat looks like.
It’s the climax of the secret, revealing all it’s facets, so the reader gets a complete picture. The secret, is finally, fully understood.
Vader has a pretty complex backstory, so technically there could be multiple final details reveals, milking the mystery for everything it’s worth. Keep in mind, that if you unpack a complex narrative secret in multiple final installments, you must nail progressive escalation. This is to say, if we’re going to wrap up Vader’s identity secret with 3 key details;
- Let’s say we wanted to showcase how the death of Padmé played into his identity,
- his desire for power corrupted him,
- and the manipulations of a young Skywalker by Emperor Palpatine.
Whatever order the mystery reveals itself, each reveal needs to be progressively more dramatic and intense than the last. If you lose track of progressive escalation, if the second reveal hits less dramatic than the first, the mystery loses its grip on the reader. Just like with the overall climax of a narrative, you save the biggest bang for last… the same applies in keeping the reader engaged by what they don’t know.
Always keep the biggest, most impressive secret detail for last. ▪
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Nick Macari is a full-time freelance story consultant, developmental editor and writer, working primarily in the independent gaming and comic markets. His first published comic appeared on shelves via Diamond in the late 90’s. Today you can find his comic work on comixology, Amazon, and in select stores around the U.S.